Venice is a labyrinth. A wrong turn will take you to a totally different side of town. Upon arriving to the dock, walk towards Piazza de San Marcos. Your feet are your transportation, everyone walks with their luggage unless you take a water taxi to the canals to get to your hote( can be expensive) At Piazza de San Marcos ask a local how to get to Teatro La Fenice, the hotel is across from the theater. Be on the lookout for the sign " Hotel Ataneo" if you miss it, you'll never get there, it's down a narrow pathway. For the price, is was well worth staying here. Origanally 150 a night, but with Hotels.com match price gurantee, we were credited 140 us dollars back to the credit card! Worth it!

They don't allow early check ins. You can store your luggage. There are no elevators, the first floor is upstairs, beware. The rooms are small for two people. Difficult to move around in which seemed a 10x10 space. But this is common for European hotels.The hotel has a vintage, old world feel. The room did as well. The walls are covered with vintage fabric. the "double room" was really two stiff twin beds pushed together. The sheets were clean as well as the tiled floor and restroom. Great shower pressure. There is a bidet, which for me, was a waste of space. There is a rack to keep towels warm, which is a great feature. No outside noise, no problem for Venice after 8pm is very quite. Everything closes early, including restaurants; so plan ahead. The staff is great! Room, very clean! Pillows were soft! TV only Italian channels. Double layer of thick curtains for those sleepers!

You will wake up to the smell of freshly baked pastries from the kitchen. The breakfast area is small, get there early to get a seat. There is a variety of yogurts, cereals, cookies, cold meats, cheese, toast. Juice tastes wateredown. There is coffee and milk available. If you eat a well breakfast you can hold up three-four hours till you eat a hearty lunch.

The hotels receptionist will lock doors after 10p. No one is out walking past 9pm, ghost town. Very quite. But, if you stay late, there is always a receptionist on duty to open doors. Rarely saw stray animals.

There are shops galore! If you like high fashion, this is the place to be! I'm not a shopper and prefer to live a simple life when it comes to fashion, so... two full days in Venice was way more than enough for me.

Idea of prices:
2.50-4 euros a slice of pizza
3-5 Euros a double scoop of gelato.
50-euros each-Gondola Ride around the canal( there were four of us)
12 US dollars- Two cappucino's included sitting fee under the Rialto Bridge. Anywhere you sit with a view, you will be charged a sitting fee.
12-Euros- Three Murano Rings( Glass rings from Murano) great for souvenirs.